Truancy sweep targets parents/guardians as well as students

STOCKTON - San Joaquin County educators, counselors and probation officers teamed up Thursday morning for a truancy sweep of children who are not enrolled in school but should be.

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By Keith Reid

recordnet.com

By Keith Reid

Posted Sep. 13, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By Keith Reid

Posted Sep. 13, 2013 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

STOCKTON - San Joaquin County educators, counselors and probation officers teamed up Thursday morning for a truancy sweep of children who are not enrolled in school but should be.

Headed by the San Joaquin County Office of Education, six groups set out into communities Thursday targeting 128 addresses to provide information for parents/guardians on where to have their children enrolled for school, and to impress upon them that there are consequences if they do not enroll them.

Truancy is a problem that educators battle on a routine basis, and these sweeps are one of the more proactive ways for school officials to find out why children are not in school, task force Director Elsa Gonzales said.

Gonzales said the sweep looks for families that have missed previous appointments at their school, or who have not responded to other forms of communication.

Once the task force - which usually includes two educators and either a probation or police officer - reaches a home, they might find that the family with the truant student has moved. In some cases, the student is enrolled elsewhere and records were not updated.

And, other times there is a need to call for social services.

"Many times there's other things going on in the home." Gonzales said. "It could be a mental health issue with a parent, or something else. Sometimes we find the children want to be in school but just are not getting there."

SJCOE Spokeswoman Jacqueline Ratto said parents who don't send their kids to school could face fines. In most cases, educators want to give the families an opportunity to find the right school to attend before taking disciplinary measures, she said.

At one stop Thursday, SJCOE Alternative Programs Director Wendy Frink and county probation Officer Adam Salas knocked on the door of a south Stockton home where a 17-year-old was living with her aunt.

The teen said she nearly had enough credits for graduation and was waiting for an adult school to begin class in October.

Frink urged the teen, who asked to not be named, to enroll at the SJCOE Success Academy off of Interstate 5 and Pershing Avenue. Salas reminded her that she was still a minor and should be enrolled in school even if she's waiting for another to begin.

"She's too close to graduation," Frink said. "We don't want her going for a GED."

Gonzales said late Thursday that at least five students were found and would be enrolling in a school.

The day was also filled with missed connections, missed opportunities or miscommunication.